One thousand, two hundred and eighty-two Is a very big number. It’s also the number of singers who took part in the Usk Choral Festival 2026 from 2nd – 5th July. Thirty-three choirs from all over South Wales, came to Usk and gave us some fantastic music.

Every type of choir took part in the festival. We had massive community choirs and small close harmony groups. We had male choirs and female choirs. We had young people’s choirs and school choirs. We had stunning pieces performed by choirs who could pass for professional musicians and other choirs who just swept the audiences away with their joy and enthusiasm. The music was unbelievably good and they all delighted us with their singing.

We also had a fantastic "Gathering Voices" workshop on Saturday morning so everyone could get involved and have a bit of a sing. This was followed by an impromptu performance of songs learnt outside the Sessions Houses. Delicious harmonies and broad smiles abounded.

We deliberately keep ticket prices very low at our festival and at £5 a ticket, we simply cover our costs. But we always nominate a charity for the festival which people can donate to if they want. We knew we wanted to choose a charity that enabled all young people to have access to music so we were delighted to support Anthem. Anthem does great work and aspires to ‘create a Wales in which music can empower every young life’. We raised a fantastic amount for them - £2170.90

A very big thank you to everyone involved in making the 2026 Usk Choral Festival such a resounding success.

We look forward to bringing you the next Festival in 2028.